A Time for Reflection

This time of year often calls for personal and professional reflection. It is a good time to show thanks and acknowledge your achievements over the past year. It is also good time to re-evaluate your employment situation.

Loyalty is certainly an admirable trait but if you are not willing to at least consider other jobs, you might be missing a real chance for career advancement. Of course the grass is not always greener elsewhere, but you will never know unless you are willing explore other options from time to time. There may not be such thing as the absolute perfect job, but you might be able to improve certain aspects of your career that are particularly important to you.

So ask yourself if you are just thankful to have survived another year on the job or if you have plateaued in your current employment? If so, it is an excellent time to consider a change because there is no better time for a job search. People are on the move in the first quarter of the year and businesses of have positions to fill so it is a perfect time to explore your options.

Change Brings Opportunity – Are You Ready To Make The Most Of It?

No matter what side of the political spectrum you reside, the outcome of this presidential election seems to have caught most people by surprise. One of the overriding themes for the prevailing side was the desire for change. Whether you like it or not, change is ultimately unavoidable and sometimes necessary. Change also brings opportunity. The key to making the most of the opportunity, is to understand the underlining reason for that change and react appropriately.

Change can affect those in the legal field in a variety of way. For example, change can come in the form of a client seeking new representation; an associate given the chance to make an impression with partner who typically looks elsewhere; or new responsibilities assigned to in-house counsel. In these examples it is easy to see the potential opportunity resulting from change, but to make the most of it is necessary to understand the underlining reason for the change. Perhaps the client did not feel like they were getting good customer service. Maybe the partner was not happy with the work quality of previous associates. The new responsibilities for in-counsel may be due to downsizing and a need for greater efficiency. Understanding the “why” greatly enhances the likely of making the most of the opportunity otherwise you may unwittingly cause further change.

Of course, once you understand the underlining reason for change it is equally important to make the most of it by working diligently to meet or exceed expectations. Don’t forget, your opportunity can quickly go to someone else if you fail to grasp it.